Data theft is unfortunately an increasing part of business. It can come in the form of either internal employee, or external sources including hacking or theft, if networks are not properly secured. It is important for organisations to undertake a planning process to determine possible threats, and subsequently complete steps to reduce the risk of data theft.
Contained below are tips to reduce the risk of data theft within your company.
Complete a risk analysis
Categorise data in terms of how critical or sensitive the data is to your organisations operations,
Undertake a risk analysis as part of your business security planning ensuring that you consider and identify the impact on your business if this data is stolen.
Control access to data
Only provide access to data to those employees who require information to undertake their job. It is also important to create user accounts to allocate user authorisation levels.
Dispose of sensitive computer data
It is necessary to remove all data from computers prior to disposing of them as sensitive data can be retrieved from discarded devices.
Utilise password protection and Encrypt archival data
Password protection and encryption makes it significantly more difficult for hackers to access sensitive information.
Educate employees
Employees should be educated in the risks of opening emails from non-trusted sources, in addition to the risks when downloading programs and applications.
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